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Stoya Named Host of 2016 XBIZ Awards

LOS ANGELES — XBIZ is pleased to announce adult film star Stoya as the host of the adult industry's biggest night, the 2016 XBIZ Awards.

Stoya will take center stage on Jan. 15 when XBIZ returns to the grand J.W. Marriott at L.A. Live for its 14th annual ceremony honoring the best of the best in the business of sex.

“It was an absolute honor to be asked to host the 2016 XBIZ Awards,” Stoya said. “If I was any more flattered I might burst.”

Widely regarded as one of the elite performers of her generation, the 2009 XBIZ Best New Starlet has only appeared in about 60 adult films since 2007, so each new performance is always an anticipated event. One prominent example was her unforgettable turn in John Stagliano’s “Voracious Season Two” vampire epic last summer.

Now a full-time resident of New York, Stoya has made an impact that extends beyond headlining adult movies. In recent years she has become an accomplished writer, influential industry advocate, producer/director and entrepreneur.

Stoya has demonstrated her exceptional writing talent in a range of opinion pieces published by the New York Times, Esquire, Vice, New Statesman and Medium.com, among others.

Her commentaries on key issues have given voice to a segment of the industry that often lacks a coherent one — the talent.

In March, she penned an Op-Ed on the issue of Internet privacy for the New York Times Sunday Review. In June she weighed in on performer pay scale for the New Statesman. She has tackled the condom debate, feminism and performer health issues for Vice and the mechanics of sex for Esquire. And she wrote a touching tribute to the late executive Christian Mann for Medium.com last summer.

Her mainstream appearances also include being featured on the cover of Arena Homme + for its Autumn 2013 issue with James Deen, in-studio interviews for HuffPost Live and a cover story in the Village Voice in April 2013 that referred to her as the “Pop Star of Porn.”

This past January Stoya co-hosted the red-carpet arrivals for the 2015 XBIZ Awards with Steven St. Croix.

“Hosting the red carpet with Mr. St. Croix last year was ultra fun, and I guess I did an OK job if XBIZ is letting me host the actual show this year,” Stoya said humbly.

The native of North Carolina earlier this year announced her first effort as an entrepreneur, launching a joint project with Kayden Kross named TrenchcoatX.com. The pay-per-scene platform features a curated collection of episodic, sexually explicit videos that includes her directorial debut “Graphic Depictions.”

The duo said the idea behind TrenchcoatX is “the belief that sexually explicit content can be made without compromising vision, respect for the performer, story, consumer interest, or — most importantly — the heat of the explicit content in question, even in the economic climate created by the Internet conditions of today.”

Stoya showcased “Graphic Depictions,” which she also executive produced, at the first Queer Porn Film Festival in April in New York.

A star-studded red carpet affair that attracts the industry elite, the XBIZ Awards show is the most celebrated night of honors in adult entertainment. The annual event recognizes outstanding achievements across every facet of the multibillion-dollar business, including movie production, pleasure products, technology and retail. Since its inception, household names from the world of erotica hosted the gala, including Jenna Jameson, Tera Patrick, Jesse Jane, Jessica Drake, Kayden Kross and James Deen. Its worldwide reach has led to international media coverage from renowned outlets such as the Los Angeles Times, CNBC, TIME, Cosmopolitan, New York Magazine, Huffington Post and The Daily Beast, among others.

The XBIZ Awards will coincide with the industry’s trade events series of the year, XBIZ 2016, which annually features an unparalleled lineup of guest speakers and special events dedicated to exploring the future of the adult industry.